Explanations for forgetting: Interference

Question 1

describe interference

Answer 1

when forgetting takes place due to two pieces of information disrupting each other, resulting in forgetting of one one or both, or some distortion of memory
mainly an explanation for forgetting in the LTM, we cannot access to the permanent memories even though they are available

Question 2

describe proactive interference

Answer 2

forgetting occurs when older memories, already stored, disrupt the recall of newer memories
the degree of forgetting is greater when the memories are similar

Question 3

describe retroactive interference

Answer 3

forgetting occurs when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories already stored
the degree of forgetting is again greater when the memories are similar

Question 4

describe research on effects of similarity

Answer 4

mcgeoch and mcdonald studied retroactive interference by changing the amount of similarity between two sets of materials
participants had to learn a list of 10 words until they could remember them with 100% accuracy, they then learned a new list
when participants were asked to recall the original list of words, the most similar material produced the worst recall
this shows that interference is strongest when memories are similar

Question 5

explain the effects of similarity

Answer 5

it could be due to proactive interference, previously stored info makes new similar info more difficult to store
or it could be due to retroactive interference, new information overwrites previous similar memories because of similarity

Question 6

what is the evidence of effects of interference in everyday situations (strength)

Answer 6

baddeley and hitch (1977) asked rugby players to recall the names of the teams they had played against during a rugby reason
players who played the most games (most interference for memory) had the poorest recall
this shows that interference can operate in real-world situations, increasing validity of the theory

Question 7

what is the counterpoint of real-world interference (limitation)

Answer 7

the conditions necessary for interference to occur are relatively rare, unlike lab studies where there is a high degree of control where a researcher can create ideal conditions for interference
two memories have to be fairly similar in order to interfere with each other, which may not happen often
suggests that forgetting may be better explained by other theories such as retrieval failure

Question 8

how is interference temporary and can be overcome using cues (limitation)

Answer 8

tulving and psotka (1971) gave ppts lists of words organises into undisclosed categories, one list at a time
recall averaged about 70% for the first list, but become progressively worse and ppts learned each additional list
at the end ppts were given a cued recall test, the names of the categories, recall rose again to 70%
this shows that interference is only a temporary loss of accessibility to material in LTM

Question 9

what is the supporting evidence from drug studies (strength)

Answer 9

coenen and luijtelaar gave ppts a list of words and later asked them to recall the list, assuming intervening experiences would act as interference
when a list of words was learned under the influence of a drug, recall 1 week later was poor
when list was learned before the drug was taken, recall was better then placebo
the drug facilitated recall of material learned beforehand
suggests that the drug prevents new info reaching parts of the brain involved in processing memories, so it cannot interfere retroactively with info already stored
shows that forgetting can be due to interference